Road of Perdition
by Tossino
Summary: Lavi believes in and searches for truth. But when Kanda teaches him that truth is so much more than just fact, he's not sure what he should do. Friendship, AU, minor OCs.
1. Prologue

**A/N: **Third and last addition to the LaviYu day! It's the prologue of my long AU fiction. Sadly you'll very likely have to wait for any updates, because I'm only posting this because it's the LaviYu day.

**Title: **Road to Perdition

**Summary: **Lavi believes in and searches for truth. But when Kanda teaches him that truth is so much more than just fact, he's not sure what he should do.

**Pairing: **Intentionally none, your choice how you want to see their relationship.

**Rating: **M for drugs, violence, sexual themes and possible gore.

**Warnings: **Drugs, violence, sexual themes, Kanda's dirty mouth, weapons, possible gore. There will be Original Characters, but only one major one right now as far as I've decided - although stories live their own life - and that OC is Kanda's sister. Dislike OCs? Well, I hope you'll give this a shot anyway.

**Warnings for _this_ chapter: **Violence and weapons. (Kanda with a gun, more precisely, hehehe. *Waggles eyebrows*)

I don't claim to own DGM or its characters in any way. It's all the property of the lovely Hoshino Katsura. I'm happy to play around with such a lovely universe, though, even if this particular universe isn't the DGM universe.

This one I've written in Word which's trial has now ended (bleh), so there shouldn't be any spelling mistakes at least? Meh.

Some parts feel awkward, just so you know. xP

I hope you enjoy!

**This has been EDITED (12th february 2010)~ It's not such an overload of information as it was the first time. xD**

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**Prologue**

_When you look out the window at the city, there's really nothing special about the place._

A green eye rapidly going from side to side, a light sound of scribbling from a pen.

_It's just like any other town. Everything you hear about the place... It doesn't really matter when you see it from afar. I never found New York special. It's just like any other big town. Like any other big town, it's ought to have mysteries that are waiting to be solved._

A red tongue sticking out of the corner of a pair of lips, a pen moving rapidly over a piece of lined paper.

_I'm aiming to solve these mysteries. I know that there's something that "normal" people could never imagine that goes on behind those closed doors and around those dark corners. As much as people try to make a city look good, there's always darkness hiding in there somewhere, which the city's inhabitants deserve to know about. Then again, of course there are people that know, but choose to ignore it all. Personally, I can't wait to get down there and see how things truly are, although I am somewhat fearing what I might find. I have seen a lot, but I have never gone into researching something like this._

The pen was put down and the green eye closed. A hand ran through messy red hair, pulling it back, as a young man leaned back in his seat, finding the movements of the train quite soothing. He had traveled a long time by train so many times it was like a second home to him – not that he had ever had a real home as far as he could remember. His right eye was covered by an eye patch and he wore a black bandanna that was tied in the back to keep the hair out of his face. He wore an unbuttoned leather jacket, a red loose shirt, tight pants and simple sneakers. On his ears golden earrings where flashing in the sunlight that flowed through the window. He looked like he was in somewhere in his twenties.

In front of him sat an old man who looked like he was Chinese. His eyes were framed by black make-up and made him look like a panda of a kind. The top of his head was decorated with a tuft that stood almost straight up, only the tip of it actually hanging. He wore a long coat with wide sleeves, in which his hands were tucked. Under it you could spot plain black pants and black slippers. He wore a blank expression and watched the redhead.

This was that young man's first own task. Normally he always had the old man with him, but now it was time to put him to the test. So he would do this all by himself and write it down all by himself. He was eager to begin, to prove he had what was needed for the job, but he could not help but feel a bit afraid. He could actually die, which was something he had never knowingly put himself in the danger of. The old man most likely had, considering how long he had been working in this business.

Then again, he was the one who had chosen this task anyway, while knowing what risks it would put him in front of. But it was not as if he was complaining. He raised his arms and stretched before he opened his eyes and looked back into the black-framed eyes that were eying him.

"There is no turning back now, Lavi," the old man said blankly, his empty expression not wavering.

"Duh, I know that," the redhead replied lazily, waving his hand through the air. "I'm ready for this."

He put his arms behind his head and looked out the window, his gaze distant.

Bookmen. That is what they called themselves. "They" meaning individuals who searched for deeper knowledge about the world and deeper understanding for the humans who lived in it.

The train began to slow down and people that were getting off gathered their things together and stood up. So did Lavi and the old man, who always went by the name Bookman. Lavi grabbed a hold of a metal pole so that he would keep his balance as the train stopped, the cool material feeling soothing against his palm.

As they walked out into the fresh air Lavi inhaled a deep breath. The train ride had been long and the air in there had been very musty and he had always had trouble thinking properly in such an environment. Now all they had to do was get settled in and he could start properly thinking about how to find the right place and the right people for his research.

"Keep your eyes and ears open," Bookman said as they exited the train station. "If you run into trouble let me know immediately. I'll help you. Anything to make sure you _stay alive_. And whatever you do, do not forget your purpose. No matter what, always have your brain set on your goal. And _don't_ do anything stupid."

"Gotta hav'ta gamle a little bit, old man," Lavi smiled and hoisted his bag onto his shoulder. When Bookman sent him a meaning glance, he added with a sigh, "I know I know. I'll be careful, I promise. I won't die."

Bookman nodded, pleased, and waved over a cab.

. . .

He was not unfamiliar with the sounds, the dust, the screaming, the blood. In fact, he was so used to it, it did not get to him at all. The metal's weight was familiar in his hands and he fingered on the trigger. He had been so close to just take out his target without making a big fuss, but then this guy had decided to walk in front of his aim just as he fired. Talk about being unlucky. Now he had to try and take out all of the guy's annoying minions or whatever before he could finish this stupid job. He did not have time for this. His sister was coming home from school soon and he needed to buy some food for her to eat when she did. Plus, he would not want her to wonder where he was and worry her when it was not necessary.

Wait, he could _not_ let his thoughts wander off too much. He did not want to get himself killed. He gritted his teeth and glanced around the corner of the metal case he used as a cover, dark eyes scanning over the area. It had silenced for now. Everyone was waiting, waiting for someone – or rather him, he was alone after all - to show up from their cover enough for them to be able to land a hit. There were two bodies already on the ground. One with a bullet hole in his head, the one who had decided to get in the way, blood pooling under him, and another that was moaning and gripping his bleeding shoulder. There was nothing that man could do, therefore there was no actual reason to kill him. He would die from blood loss soon anyway, might as well let him suffer.

He needed to get these people away from their shields so that he could take them out. He could show himself to get them to try and fire at him, but that meant taking the risk of getting himself killed before he could do anything. Or he could try to find a way around and see if he could get an aim at anyone, but he was not sure if that could work. He turned around and walked slowly along the case, rubbing a sweaty hand against his jeans, licking his dry lips. Why did he get into such a troublesome situation? This was supposed to be done quickly. He would get it now, he knew it. That guy could be very fucking scary when he wished to be.

Wait... That was not his biggest trouble. Would it even count now that it became such a big thing when he was strictly told to do it quick and not get discovered? He had to kill them all, so that there were no eyewitnesses, or he might as well just count himself as a dead man.

"Maybe I should just use the grenades and blow as much shit up as I can," he muttered under his breath.

He had been told not to waste too many – it was only to be used in case of emergency. But... maybe this could be counted as an emergency. He had to get rid of all the witnesses. It was as simple as that.

He reached the other end of the case and looked around the corner again. A pair of blue eyes stared back into his dark ones. He saw the pipe of a gun aimed at him. A man was standing there, with his gun raised, ready to fire. His eyes widened and he took a step backwards, squeezed the trigger... The man let out a shout from pain and fell to his knee, blood spurting out from the bullet wound that had appeared in his leg.

"Damn it, Kanda, you bastard!" he cursed, slurring. "Couldn't have stayed there for just a bit longer, could ya?"

Kanda stared at him. How did that guy know his name? Wait, forget that... His insides froze. Someone had almost sneaked up on him. He could have died. He could have actually died.

He bit his lip and fired another bullet through the man's eye and then took off, didn't look back. He dived behind the wall of a ruined storage building that had been close by, leaned against it and breathed heavily, eyes wide. He could have died... He ran a hand through his black fringe and pulled his white shirt closer around himself, feeling suddenly cold. He had let his guard down. Was he not one of the best? He could not go and die. He had things he needed to do. If he left his problems behind for his sister to deal with... He would never be able to forgive himself.

"Focus, Yu, focus!" he told himself in a low hiss, glancing around the corner.

Heads were peeking out from the enemies' different covers to check what had happened with their ally. What idiots. He smirked lightly and stepped out from behind the wall, the ponytail whipping through the air, and aimed his gun at them. One, two, three, four bullets he fired in a rapid sequence, three of his targets fell down, most likely dead.

"Hn," he said and quickly went behind the cover again as someone tried to fire at him.

How silly could he be? There was no way he would die if he had a say in this. Which he really did not, but that did not matter. Either way, he was not going to die while he still had things to accomplish in this world.

"What were you thinking, getting involved with guys like these?" he muttered under his breath.

He glanced around the corner again. No one was peeking out right now, as far as he could see. He made a bolt for another cover.


	2. This is How it is Done, You See

I'm finally updating! Sorry for the wait, but my plans to try and get more ahead sort of, a little, failed. I'm just posting it anyway, because you've waited too long. xD I also edited the prologue a bit. Lavi's part, that is, Kanda's is pretty much aside from a few words and splitting of some paragraphs. So feel free to check back on it, but it's not completely necessary

**Warnings for _this_ chapter: **Pretty crappy plot device, I have to say myself, but... you be the judge. xD First minor OC appearance solely as a plot device, not_ planning_ to have him appear again. Cross being a bastard and Allen and Kanda meeting for the first time - in this story, that is; they already know each other. Mentions of drug dealing. But it's a tame chapter.

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**This is How it is Done, You See**

Everyone knows how the mysterious guys that are the leaders of some illegal organization often have a dimly lit office where his face is shaded and wears a fancy suit… That is a pretty normal thing in the world of fiction. But it was not really anywhere near the truth.

Kanda knew that was not the case in the real world. He would always be in a very foul mood when he stood in front of this man in his fancy _light _office with dark brown wooden walls trimmed with gold, wooden floor in the same colour but decorated with a red carpet, a glass roof so that you could see the sky above and expensive furniture. A big brown desk with gold decorations, a couch next to the wall to Kanda's right with red cushions that he bet was very comfortable. He did not know, because he had never sat down on it. It was probably as comfortable as the two armchairs that stood in front of the desk. Not that he cared. He was just thinking stupid things.

He hated this man. He really did.

"Sit down, Yu," said man told him, voice deep and calm.

Kanda sat down in one of the armchairs and leaned his head on his closed fist, looking straight into the brown – though almost red – eyes that watched him, refusing to blink.

"Don't call me that," he said by reflex.

He hated his first name; it was… girly. Well, it was in fact a unisex name. But he didn't give a rat's ass.

The man chuckled, his glasses flashing in the light as he leaned his head back and ran a hand covered by a black glove through his red hair. He pulled down the sleeve of his white silk shirt that hung fairly loosely on his torso before he pulled out a lighter from the pocket of his black jeans. He picked up a cigarette from his desk and put up his feet on the wood surface, crossing his legs, the gold jewelry that hung from one of his black shoes glistening in the sunshine that came in through the glass roof. He put the cigarette to his lips and looked at Kanda with half lidded eyes.

"I can call you whatever I want," Cross said blankly. "Don't act like a stuck-up, or I might as well just kill you right here."

He grinned, showing the overly white teeth that always made Kanda grimace in disgust and annoyance.

Still, the Japanese man's eyes were drawn to the gun that rested in the holster hanging from the redhead's belt that could be drawn in the matter of a second if the latter so wished.

"As if you would, Cross," he said with what he hoped was a confident tone. "I'm one of your best."

Cross chuckled. "You've got too much nerve, kid," he said, nonchalantly blowing out a cloud of smoke. "That's 'sir' to you, as I've told you millions of times before." He put his feet down and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk instead. "That's true. Killing you would be an unnecessary waste of useful manpower, but I expect those who work under my command to treat me with respect." He grinned again. "You see what I'm getting at, right?"

Kanda frowned and stayed quiet for a while, looking into Cross's smug eyes. "Yes," he finally replied and added in a very bitter grumble, "_sir._"

"Good," Cross said with a slightly contented tone and leaned back in his seat, once again putting his feet up on the table. "Now that that's over with, maybe we can get to talking about your little job." He narrowed his eyes at Kanda, who stared back at him without moving a muscle. "I understand it wasn't quite as successful as it should've been."

Kanda cursed Cross's ability to get all information he needed, especially since he did that so quickly. If you screwed up on a mission that you had gotten from him he would find out. If you made the littlest of mistakes, he would know once you came to give off your report. If you succeeded, he would not bother to ask about it since you had done it the way he had planned and would just toss you your payment (well, he mostly didn't pay anything since those who worked under him most often had a debt to repay him) and wave you away – he was very sure about how he wanted things to be done, and if it was not done that way it counted as a screw-up. His ability to find out everything that he wanted to was incredibly annoying and Kanda wondered how the hell he did it. Although, he had to say he was not really _that _sure he wanted to know.

"I finished it," he retorted, crossing his arms in front of his chest in what he hoped did not look like a defensive gesture, although it actually sort of was… "Isn't that enough?"

Half of Cross's lips moved upwards in a smirk; however he still looked bitter and annoyed.

"I was expecting more from you," he said. "I was hundred percent sure that you would succeed flawlessly. But you screwed it up big time; getting all of his minions after you." He snorted. "What a complete failure."

Kanda twitched, clenching the cloth on his arm, and glared at the redhead with as much hatred as he could muster - which was quite a lot. He tried very hard not to snap as he hissed between gritted teeth:

"Someone got in the way of the fucking bullet. You can't keep an eye on everything in the surroundings when you try to aim at the head of some hotshot with bodyguards. Plus, the position was bad. I could barely get a good aim at all. So don't you fucking put the blame on me. _You _were the one who gave me the position where I was supposed to hide, claiming it was 'the only safe one'. You_ knew _that that guy would be surrounded by people and that it was a risky mission. 'Hundred percent sure'? Can't you _fucking think_, asshole?"

He knew he had gone too far. He did not have to look into Cross's face to realize that. But he would not take any crap, despite who it was from. He stared into the other's pair of eyes, which were filled with fury. Still, even if he knew that this man could be dangerous, he found great amusement and satisfaction in seeing the vein in Cross's temple pulsate.

"So that's how you explain yourself?" Cross asked, his voice threateningly calm. "I was considering letting you off easily anyway, and just not count this one. But maybe I should increase your debt, hm? Would that make you learn?"

Kanda's eyes widened as he stared at Cross. He suddenly felt all cold inside. He could not even feel annoyed at how the redhead's lips formed into a smirk. Increase his debt? Was it not big enough already? Knowing this man, he would add a _big _amount. How much did he have left anyway? He wanted to just get all these debts paid, so that his sister could _finally_ get a carefree life. That was all he asked… All he…

"How much?" he asked, his hoarse voice sounding distant in his ears.

"I'm not sure yet," Cross answered contently. "But it's going to be big. You need to learn."

Kanda felt like he suddenly fell down to Earth with a big crash. For a moment, he just stared at the redhead, as the conversation slowly sunk into his head. Something just was not right. This guy was impossible to deal with. Kanda could never understand what went through his head. But he had just realized it…

"So… You're simply looking for excuses to keep me under your command for as long as possible…" he said slowly, eyes narrowing again as he looked at Cross. "Aren't you? You're just searching for the smallest of mistakes that gives you a reason to just not count my work instead of decreasing my debt like you should…" His lips formed into a smirk, a wide, contented smirk that was filled with sudden confidence, though his eyes were showing clear annoyance and anger. "Like you promised. I'm just that valuable to you, aren't I?"

Cross snorted. "Don't get too high of yourself," he said and rolled his eyes. "So what if that's true? You _are _valuable to me. But that doesn't change the fact that you can't do shit about it. I can control your debt as much as I wish. I could kill you before you even had a change to draw your own weapon, and you know it."

He tossed Kanda a challenging look, a look that the Japanese normally would never have brushed aside and he would have blown the head off of anyone who dared give it to him. But Cross was a better gunman than he was and, although he hated to admit it, he knew that. The guy was known for being able to pull a gun and fire in less than a second, and that was something Kanda was not able to beat at the current time. This irritated him, of course. But he knew better than to challenge fate like that.

"Whatever," he grumbled dryly, despite that his mind was screaming at him to not accept a treatment like this, and stood up. "Are we done? I can't stand this fucking place anymore."

"Sure, just get out of my face," Cross answered and waved his hand dismissively.

Kanda turned around and left before Cross had a chance to change his mind, something he did quite often, really. He would sometimes get a new idea about something he wanted his "underlings" to do, and it could be very ridiculous. Kanda was not sure if he actually knew just how stupid his ideas were… He probably did not. He sure seemed like the type to just do things because they seemed fun or whatever. Or it was simply because he wanted to be an ass. It was quite obvious that he was used to getting whatever he wanted, though, and that was, if Kanda dared say so himself, a very bad attribute to have and certainly not something to be proud of. But Cross seemed to think that he was better than anyone else and therefore had no flaws, which was just stupid. _Everyone _had flaws.

Kanda halted. Wait… He had planned on asking Cross about how the hell that man that almost killed him had been able to know his name… Sure, he might be a quite well-known assassin or whatever by now, so it could be just that. But with Cross you never knew. It might as well have been a part of some plan of the stupid redhead.

Well… Maybe he could not be called stupid. He was actually a very intelligent man, as much as Kanda hated to say it. He was like a puppet master that controlled everything from a distance, keeping a careful eye on his puppets and making sure they did exactly what he wished. He was manipulative, he had everyone that worked under him or knew him in some way in a steel grip. No one was safe from him. And no one could understand how his mind worked.

Kanda 'che'd silently and continued walking. Now that he thought of it, it probably would not matter at all even if he had brought the subject up. Cross would not have said a thing anyway; he would have told him that it was none of his business, that he did not know or tell a lie. You could never tell whether or not Cross told the truth. That was what was so annoying about him. He was so mysterious…

Kanda turned a corner, his feet barely making any sound on the carpet-covered floor. Since he peacefully walked there fuming over the redhead's ideas and habits and whatnot, imagining different ways he would like to painfully kill the man, he did not notice when someone else turned the exact same corner as him. Apparently, that person was busy with something, too, or he most likely would have noticed he was about to bump into someone and would have moved out of the way. If he knew what was best for him.

Kanda did not actually fall from the impact or anything; however he did feel that there was a sudden resistance and he was snapped out of his thoughts. He lost his balance for a moment and twitched, looking around for who it was that dared walk straight into him. His eyes eventually landed on the floor, where a white-haired young man rubbed his head and fumbled for a few papers that he had been carrying. It seemed he had yet to notice who it was he had run into.

Kanda twitched.

"Hey," he said angrily and aimed a kick – that was actually not meant to hit its target or anything... for now – at the other male, who tensed a bit at the sound of the gunman's voice. "Bean Sprout, watch where the fuck you're going."

The man gathered together the documents and grumbled something about "having to sort them again" as he stood up, the papers clutched closely to his chest.

"I've told you millions of times already, Kanda," he said bitterly, "the name is Allen. And I can say the same to you. It's not only one person who needs to watch where he's going."

Kanda snorted. "As long as one person's watching, the other shouldn't have to," he said. "So if you had just kept an eye out, this didn't have to happen."

It seemed like a completely logical reason in his eyes.

But Allen looked like he had said something utterly stupid. "I had a reason not to pay attention," the brat protested and straightened up – to seem taller than he was, most likely. "I was making sure I had these papers fully organized. But now I need to start all over. Thanks to _you_!"

Kanda was about to snap back a nasty reply, but he stopped himself as a thought hit him.

"You're going with those to Cross?" he asked and folded his arms across his chest, tapping his foot lightly on the floor.

Allen blinked at the taller man and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Yes… Why?" he said and clutched the documents closer to his chest.

Kanda got some sort of glint in his eyes, wondering just what it might be in those files. Something important and secret, perhaps? Maybe something that could give him some kind of clue what that redhead was thinking… Maybe…

"Do you know what's in those papers?" he asked, trying to keep a straight face.

Allen backed off a bit, still looking at Kanda with the same suspicious look. "No… I wasn't supposed to read them or anything," he said slowly.

"And you haven't even considered taking a quick peek?" Kanda asked with an innocent tone while glancing at the wall.

Allen seemed to hesitate for a moment before he shook his head.

"You know… That guy always has a lot of secret things going on, it seems. Noticed?" Kanda said smoothly and Allen gave him a meaning look that said that of course he had. "Thought so. What if you could find out something by reading through those? Wouldn't you want to do that?"

Kanda knew Allen had a side to him that would take any opportunity to somehow get at those people who he disliked, and Cross was one of them. If only he could say the right things, then maybe… It was definitely worth a shot. Allen was a strange guy and, although he was very naïve, stupid and annoying, he did have his moments. Moments that could be taken advantage of…

Allen frowned. "I'm paid for organizing uncle's files and keep them secret," he said bitterly. "If I wanted to read them I would have done so already. And if you expect me to give them to _you _or something, well… Then you're really stupid."

Kanda barely kept himself from flinching. Had he been that obvious? …Well, maybe… But that was beside the point. He 'che'd silently and raised an eyebrow, looking at the white-haired young man with what he hoped was a mocking look.

"He's using you, then, Sprout," he said and flicked a strand of hair that had gotten in his eye away.

"At least I'm using the money for something useful," Allen sneered, clearly getting more and more annoyed. "What do _you _spend them on? Drugs? And the name is Allen. A-L-L-E-N."

Kanda twitched as he received a beaming smile and was about to make a leap at Allen, however stopped himself. What was the use? He would most likely just get in trouble somehow… Or something. He really did not need any more shit on his hands. Any more debts… He would make that irritating little bean sprout pay one day, he would. But not here. He was _not_ doing drugs. Whatever made that stupid idiot just assume that? It was probably just to get at him. Yes, of course that was it. What else? Allen was always looking for an excuse to piss him off. But Allen did not need to know what he spent his money on.

"I don't do drugs," he snarled at the brat and stormed down the hallway.

He had things to do, after all. He had no time for this bullshit.

. . .

The warm sun shining through the windows made the whole place impossibly warm, almost. The air was heavy and somewhat hard to breathe. If you stayed too long in here, you were likely to get a headache. The librarian did not agree with opening a window either, stating there was a chance he might forget to close it when he left and leaving it open during the night he stated was very dangerous. Apparently he was quite protective of the books and documents in here, because he kept walking around to make sure everything was in place while occasionally disappearing to the counter if anyone rang the bell.

Lavi could understand him. Books were invaluable. They could tell people things that no one else could, be it history, theories or just made-up stories. There were bad books, of course, but that was a very small matter compared to how wonderful they could be. If you knew what to look for, there was nothing in the world that could replace them as the best thing to get information from. Internet? Well, it worked… But there was something special about books. Searching through records, reading hundreds and hundreds of pages of an amazing story that someone else has made up, dwelling deep into the history of man in the dusty old papers and parchments… There was a certain feeling about it that the web could never match.

But still... He had to admit that it sometimes could be frustrating, considering what he worked with. For example, when he had just begun a project and he had to find information about different people and where to find them. There were a lot of things that he had to find out about the subject in question. Bookmen often looked into areas that were not widely known (Lavi's was, but that did not make it any easier) and as a general rule you usually had to be born into that environment to find it, or know someone who was already involved. That meant that the fastest way to get into it was to find someone who was already there. The problem was that those people were secretive and hard to find and figuring out where to look was not the easiest thing.

He had searched through newspapers in hopes of finding some recent news about something that could have a connection to anything that might be a planned coup d'état or something like that carried out by some professional vandal, mass murderer, assassin, explosive expert; the list went on and on, sort of. But either there had not happened any recently, or it just had not reached public ears just yet. Or maybe it had happened today, which meant it would not be known until evening, if he was lucky, or the next day. Either way nothing that was written in the papers had caught his eye as something worth investigating.

He sighed as he closed another book. He had to find someone; someone who could give him some information; someone who knew... But where was the best place to look? He stood up from the couch and put the book back in its shelf, his feet sounding softly in the quiet lounge. He wiped some sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt and headed towards the desk where the librarian was hopefully sitting. He had to get out of there, not only because it was so very hot but because he had to search for some kind of source. But first he had to ask that guy something.

He briefly wondered what the old man was doing at the moment. He was going to retire soon, and leave all responsibilities to Lavi. Thinking about that made him feel a bit odd. It was a strange feeling and he actually was not all that sure if he was ready for it. But... well, if Bookman thought so then it must be true. That old panda was among the best, after all.

His demands and expectations had been big (or maybe that was an understatement; they had been huge!) and it had really taken a toll on the redhead; working under his guidance. But it had been worth it. Everything that Lavi had learned, all the experience he had gained. It was invaluable, and he really hoped that he could pass it on to someone someday. If he stayed alive that long... His and Bookman's work was risky, after all.

He reached the open space where the librarian's desk along with the exit was situated and, surely enough, there the guy was, sitting at his computer while occasionally sending suspicious glances over his shoulder to make sure that no one was doing something inappropriate to his precious books. His blond hair, which's fringe covered a bit of his eye, was messy and clearly showed that it was not really taken care of properly. The glasses he wore constantly slipped down on his nose and he pushed them back up. The simple gray shirt's sleeves were pulled up a bit so that they would not get in the way as he surfed on the net, the black tie neatly tied in perfect position over the buttons. Basically, his hair was the only thing that did not look very clean.

"Yo, Frank," Lavi said and put his elbows on the desk, knocking a jar filled with pencils over. "Whoops. Sorry 'bout that."

Frank whirled around in his chair and fixed the redhead with a piercing glare as he caught the jar before it fell over completely and spilled out all its content, then proceeded with picking up the few pencils that fell out. Lavi wondered how the hell he could seem to be in such a bad mood constantly, always having his guard up and the suspicious look very rarely leaving his face.

"That is Mr. Green for you, sir," he replied dryly and turned back to the screen, rapidly typing in a new address in the address field. "And please do try not to knock any more of my things down; I don't want a mess in here."

Lavi blinked and glanced around for a moment. How could one knocked-over jar make a "mess" in a place that looked as perfect like this did?

"Riiiiight," he said slowly and scratched his neck. "Hey, listen, I wanna ask ya something. Is that alright with you, Frank?"

"_Mr. Green_," Frank corrected him again and rolled his eyes. "Yes, what is it?"

"Y'know, it's not polite to stare at the computer screen when someone's tryin' to talk to ya," Lavi pointed out and reached over to poke the librarian's head.

The hand, however, got swatted away and the blond turned his chair around again, facing Lavi.

"Yes?"

Lavi idly fingered on the collar of his shirt, his lips pressed against each other in a thoughtful expression.

"Do you know anything about... underground organisations and the like who basically live off of killing people and sellin' illegal stuff for money?"

Lavi had expected Frank to get mad and ask however he could think that a noble citizen like him could know something like that. Because Frank did seem like a quite normal person who really would not know such a thing. But Lavi had not quite expected the librarian to look at him with the usual hard stare and _not say anything_.

"Why do you ask me of all people?" he asked instead after a moment of silence, his tone not giving anything away.

"Because," Lavi said innocently, "since you surf on the net so much and know basically everything there is to read in books out there, if I understand you correctly, I just thought that maybe you had at least a hunch. Or maybe you can tell me where I can find information on such things? I really need any information I can get."

"Go to the police station," Frank said and rolled his eyes, turning back to the computer. "Really, whatever are you doing here when it's illegal activity-sources that you're looking for? That is a waste of time."

Lavi shook his head. "We dun' do that," he said simply. "The police have nothin' to do with our business, and they always tend to want to dig deeper into things. Bad things've happened when we've tried taking help from them before. Doesn't work in our favour, ya see. It takes longer to find what we want when we don't, but it always works eventually anyway, so there's no problem."

Frank turned back around again, eyeing Lavi intently for a while, maybe searching for any sign of lying for whatever reason he would have to do that.

"Interesting," he then said. "Haven't really met any people who don't trust the police very much at all before. They're supposed to guard and help us citizens after all."

"Is there any way you could help me with it?" Lavi asked, not intending to drop the subject.

"I might," Frank answered mysteriously, his glasses catching a kind of glint in them as he smiled. "But what's in it for me?"

Lavi blinked and just looked at the librarian for a moment. "It depends what ya want," he finally said. "I've got resources, but before I can promise you anything you need to tell me if ya know anything, so I can judge how valuable the information is."

Frank seemed to consider the options he had as he once again stayed quiet for a while, his gaze slightly distant, fingering on the mouse he still rested his hand on. Lavi had no doubt that if he knew something he would speak. The redhead had not been lying when he said he had resources; he could definitely make it worth the "trouble", as Frank would most likely call it.

"There are lots of things going on in this city," the librarian finally said. "It's not always that it gets in the newspapers, but on the internet on the other hand... People put up everything there, while newspapers can only take in a limited amount of news. Therefore it's not always you can find what you need in them. But the kind of people you are searching for are not as unknown as you may think. In fact, many people know of most of them."

He turned in his chair and faced the computer, opening up a new tab and typing in an address with the same speed as usual.

"There is a very popular blog on the net who makes sure to keep people updated on just what exactly is going on in the darkest criminal side of New York City," he said as the page loaded and topic after topic popped up on the screen. "It's one of the best sources you could find. And the guy makes sure that all of it is correct." He grinned as he turned the screen towards Lavi and clicked the top topic. "This is the latest that has been put up here, and that was a few days ago. Things have been pretty calm this week."

Lavi skimmed through the article. He did not particularly like to stare at the computer screen, but he had to trust Frank that this was the best source of information for these kinds of things. He had to say that it was quite brave of the blog's creator to write about it, as it must put him in danger.

The article mentioned something about a hotshot in the restaurant business who had apparently used it as a disguise for his drug dealing and had been found dead in the kitchen with a bullet hole through his skull. The police who investigated it had found drugs in the same room, stashed away in boxes that made it seem like normal groceries.

Frank scrolled down to the bottom of the page were there were links to similar topics, which Frank stated all had with drug dealers' deaths to do. He clicked his way back to the main page and moved to the seventh page of the blog and clicked on an insertion with the topic "Cross Marian, famous manufacturer for factory robots, accused of drug and weapon dealing".

"He got out of it," Frank said as the redhead read the article. "They got information from a 'reliable source', the police said, but in the end there were no real evidence so they had to drop it. But there have been rumors going about concerning this guy. Every drug dealer that was killed was one of the biggest, and he is as well, but still he's one of the few who hasn't gotten any real trouble at all. This guy is a master in strategies and manipulation, you see, even when it comes to the usual work. This is a wild guess, since it's just rumors, but this is one of those that you should keep an eye out for."

He moved on to an article just about Cross Marian and scrolled down a bit.

"Here's a complete list of the people working closest to him," he said and pointed out a few names. "All of these people have been spotted on the scenes of different crimes and some have even stated that they have seen them commit crimes, like killing people or robbing."

Lavi nodded, the different names as well as the address of the site already registered inside his mind and tucked away to use whenever he would need. He would definitely have to look closer into this.

"Thanks a bunch," he said and patted Frank on the shoulder, ignoring the blond's annoyed look at the motion. "Whatever ya want as a repayment, just tell me, 'kay?"

He grabbed the notepad next to the computer screen as well as a pen and wrote up the number to his cellphone. He pushed it back towards Frank as the latter pulled back the computer screen.

"There's my number," he said. "When ya think of anything, call me. You don't happen to know who writes this blog?"

Frank shook his head. "I haven't bothered asking, and there are no numbers or anything on the site," he said blankly. "That is pretty understandable, though."

"Yeah, it is," Lavi agreed with a nod. "Well, thanks for the help, anyway. See ya sometime, Frank."

He turned around and headed towards the door, raising his hand in a wave as Frank replied:

"I would rather not."


	3. A Lead! Or No? Damn it

**Warnings for _this_ chapter:** More crappy plot stuff. (I hate those.) Kanda's sister is introduced. Two other minor, very, very minor, OCs appear too, for like a couple of paragraphs each. Another tame chapter, hurr. (Oh, yes. Making fake IDs is not cool, kids.)

* * *

**A Lead?! Or... No? Damn it**

He pulled down the handle on the door. You had to really push at it hard to be able to open the door, something that annoyed him quite a lot, and it creaked quite loudly as it was forced to move. He could hear the music that had been heard from outside louder, the familiar dark voice of his sister's favourite singer penetrating his ears. He kicked off his shoes and pushed them away towards the wall before stepping further in, entering the biggest room of the small apartment.

He walked to one of the corners, where a small kitchen along with a square table and two chairs were tucked in. He put the bag on the counter and turned around to look at the girl lying on the couch at the other end of the room in front of a television that could not be turned on at the moment. He really needed to pay that bill… The walls were grey and boring, but the different posters of actors and singers that decorated it at least added some colour. Between the couch and the wall a bed had been placed, the covers neatly made, however there was a pizza carton on it. He cocked an eyebrow at it and stepped towards the girl.

"Oh, hello, brother," she said in fluid Japanese, tilting her head back a bit so that she could look at him. "I didn't see you at first."

"Hey," Kanda replied in the same language and picked up the carton, shooting the pizza slice in her hand a quick look. "Where did you get the extra money to buy this, Umeko?"

"No need to look at me like that, brother," Umeko said and sat up, brushing a few strands of black hair away from her face and behind her ear before she proceeded to comb her fingers through it to straighten it out after lying in that position and put the pizza slice down on the small table in front of the couch. "I didn't steal anything or something like that. Come on, you know you can trust me."

"Where?" Kanda repeated the question, his eyes landing on the gray t-shirt she was wearing, its black pattern in particular getting his attention. "I haven't seen that one on you before…"

"Brother, come on!" the teenager exclaimed and sighed heavily, straightening out the shirt before crossing her arms stubbornly across her chest. "You always react like that if I get my hands on some extra cash. There's no need to get so suspicious about it. I don't understand why you do it. I stumbled upon it on the street, okay?"

"Again?" Kanda's voice clearly showed he was not going to believe that. "That's what you said the last time, and the time before that."

Umeko frowned and rapidly turned her head to the side, her shoulder-length hair flipping with the movement.

"Yeah, alright, so I borrowed some from a friend," she admitted. "Happy?"

"Umeko…" Kanda muttered and rubbed his forehead. "You know we don't have much money. You can't always get what you want. You need to repay it eventually."

"But I just had to buy this so badly!" she said and turned away, flopping down on her stomach and raising the volume of the CD-player situated on a small table next to the couch.

Kanda walked around the couch and lowered the volume again, receiving a glare from the girl that he ignored as he sat down on the arm rest, looking at her bitterly. Why could she not just understand and try to support him through all this? She was not going to help if she piled up debts for herself as well, they had enough already. Of course… It did not help that she did not know about it, but he did not want to tell her.

"I know," he said somewhat tiredly. "I know. You get jealous of your friends when they always get new things. But they have money! You have to realize that we can't afford paying debts to your friends. We barely have enough to get through the day. You're not helping it at all. I need you to support me, you know. We've already had this talk…"

She looked down, narrowing her eyes at the floor, her hair falling down and covering her face shortly after. He hated seeing her like this, he really did. He knew how much she wished to be able to have what everyone else did, and he wondered if she knew how much he wished he could give it to her. He hated seeing the disappointment in her eyes whenever he could not buy her what she wanted to have, or when she could not go out with her friends because she did not have the money… The list went on for a long time. He hated it so much that it made him want to break things. Or kill someone.

He did not normally care all that much about people, but his sister was a different story.

"Yeah…" she said sadly, her arms wrapping around herself. "I must seem so selfish, thinking like this… I mean, I'm happy that we at least have enough money to have roof over our heads and food on the table and all that, but seeing all of my friends enjoying their time and having new clothes at least every month… I can't help but wishing I had that."

Kanda sighed and rubbed his forehead, again. He felt a headache coming in. He really had not had the best of days and this was not something he needed right now. He just wanted some goddamned rest. He patted his sister's head and stood up again.

"I know," he said with a sigh and turned around to pack up the groceries. "But you could at least try to resist the temptation."

"I am!" Umeko insisted and he could hear the sound of her feet thudding on the floor as she followed him. "But it's hard! It's just--"

"I know," Kanda repeated, interrupting her. "You've already explained yourself a number of times. I get it."

"Sorry," she said and he could practically see her slight frown even if he did not look at her at the moment.

"Whatever," he muttered as he began to pick the groceries from the bag. "We don't need to discuss it again. I don't have the energy anyway. Let's just drop the subject, okay?"

As he raised his eyes to see how she reacted he was not surprised to see the great relief on her face and she smiled widely as she chirped an "okay". She turned to walk back to the couch, pulling down her black, short skirt a little as it had apparently glided up onto her stomach while she was lying down.

"So how was your day?" she asked as she sat down at the couch again and picked up the pizza slice to finish it.

Kanda furrowed his forehead and stayed silent for a while as he put all the groceries in their place. He knew it was easy to simply say he had not had a good day, but his sister would occasionally ask more, and he could definitely not say anything about what he had been up to. He could always complain to her about his boss or something casual like that, but he was not that kind of person. He kept to himself if he could and Umeko seemed to think that he should open up more and often tried to get him to talk…

Eventually, he shrugged. "I've had better," he answered, feeling her stare on his back as he put some bread away in a cabinet – she probably wondered about his silent moment.

"Did something happen?" she asked carefully, her mouth obviously filled with pizza.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Kanda said sternly. "Just some crap with work."

. . .

Lavi was thrilled! He was not supposed to let his emotions get the better of him or anything like that, but he did not think that was what was going on. He was just so very happy! He had just started on this and he had already made some great progress. Frank had really helped him with providing him with that website. As much as he disliked the idea of using the internet as he was still so very much in love with books, or however you were supposed to call it, he could not deny that this really helped him. Now all that he had to do was deciding what to do with all this information. He had a lot to use…

That Cross Marian guy did seem like one of the biggest hotshots in town right now, though, so looking more into his minions and business was definitely a good bet. It was possible he could find some real damn good juice if he looked into the guy closer. Cross was working in a very big business and that was a great cover-up for any possible suspicious activities. Lavi had worked enough in this business to know a silent battle between different criminal bosses when he saw one. Drug-dealing, weapon-dealing, prostitution… Those were some of the very big businesses when it came to criminal activities and that always meant there would be war about the biggest part of business. The one who could exterminate all the competition was the one who got all the customers. That meant big cash.

And this Cross guy had been in enough situations to be suspicious.

Lavi had decided to examine this man and his different subordinates. Among the list of those who worked for him, there were a few that had been involved in criminal cases, but most of them had been freed from charges. Lavi was quite sure that it either had to do with Cross saving their asses, because he was a big person in the city, or there was simply a lack of evidence. Lavi knew that many of the biggest criminals that were intent on not getting caught because they had a reason to do what they were doing, even if doing it was wrong, were often the best ones and rarely left any trails behind.

And it was evening, and a new topic had just appeared on the blog. This guy, Jim Campbell, who owned a car factory had gotten killed by what was assumed to be a sniper shot in the head and many of his employees were found dead along with him, scattered throughout the area. They had all been killed by bullets.

Lavi was completely sure that this incident would lead him somewhere. Therefore, he had to go there. He shut down the laptop and closed it before turning to Bookman, who was relaxing with a book, excitedly.

"Old man!" he called eagerly and Bookman glanced up. "I've got a possible lead. I've gotta check it out."

. . .

Half an hour later Lavi and Bookman were at the scene of the obvious crime. The temperature was dropping outside and the sun was on its way down, but despite that the place was crowded. He could almost smell the suspense and curiosity in the air… along with death. It lay like a thick blanket around them and it would probably suffocate anyone who was not used to it, which most of the people there probably were not. Lavi was, and it made him feel weird thinking that way. He was just in his twenties, after all. twenty two, to be exact. And yet he had experienced so much.

The police were trying to push the crowd further away, but people still managed to get rather close. Some of them looked scared and kept their distance, but many of them seemed quite unphased by all of this. Lavi felt a bit bothered by that fact.

He was really quite happy to have Bookman with him on this. He was still not all that skilled in persuasion, although he was getting there, and they would need to tread carefully to get access to the crime scene, even if Bookmen were widely known.

Lavi pushed his way through the crowd, the short old man that was his tutor following shortly after. The smell of suspense and curiosity grew bigger the closer they got and he felt discomfort growing. Why were these people not bothered by this? Was it because it was in a troubled neighborhood? A lot of things had happened here, Lavi knew that. But still, it should not be treated as such a casual incident, right? It was almost as if it happened every day… He glanced over his shoulder and shared a quick look with Bookman. It was obvious that it was not anything new for the old panda, but he seemed to understand, and that was comforting.

Once they finally got out of the crowd and were just outside the yellow bands that marked the crime scene, a police officer stopped them. That was to be expected.

"You're going to have to step back, sir," the man said, his voice polite but still firm.

Lavi could tell he was not someone that you should mess too much with.

He was not all that much to look at, really. He was short, somewhere around one-hundred-seventy-four centimeters, and not very muscular. His blond hair was pulled back into a braid and he had two birthmarks positioned between his eyebrows. That… was a bit strange… and quite funny, really.

What made Lavi think that he was not someone to mess with, though, were his eyes. Actually, his expression in general, but especially the eyes. They were stern, bitter and determined. That meant he did not take crap from anyone and he was obviously a very strict person. Lavi could tell from just a quick look that this guy took rules and laws seriously. Lovely, they just had to bump into that kind of person of all the cops there, didn't they? The redhead was not sure this was going to go as smoothly as he had hoped.

He glanced down at Bookman, who shook his head and then nodded at the police officer, trying to say that he was supposed to try to convince him. He was not surprised; if he was going to get by on his own as a Bookman one day he had to learn to do things like these on his own, and the best way was by practice and experience. But he was not very sure his skills were enough for this. Well, the old man would probably cut in if needed.

"I'm afraid that we can't just do that," Lavi said politely, intending to test the waters, and recalled different situations where Bookman had had to use persuasion to get the right information or get through to a restricted area. "You see, we'd like to see the crime scene for a project that we're working on. We're Bookmen."

The blond police stared at him, eyes narrowing suspiciously. Lavi felt slightly uneasy, but he did not avert his gaze. That guy was most likely looking for any signs of a possible lie or hesitation, and he would not show that. Even if it _was_ a lie, which it was not, it would not have mattered anyway. Bookmen were taught to be extraordinary liars if the situation demanded it. Lavi was prepared to lie if it was necessary.

"Bookmen, you say?" the blond repeated, one of his eyebrows arching slightly upwards. "And I should allow you in just because of that? I'm sorry, but I cannot quite see the reason to--"

"Is there a problem here, officer Howard?" another police officer suddenly interrupted him.

That police officer was another blond, but of a darker shade, it was almost orange. Perhaps brown, even. His hair was standing out in all directions under the cap he was wearing and he was quite a bit taller than the other police, who was apparently named Howard. This man did not look as strict. In fact, he looked quite the opposite. His whole face, along with his eyes, was smooth and gentle. He looked like a calm and reasonable person, someone who could deal with a lot of stress and get out of it with no problem. Though, he looked a bit tired...

Judging by the slight accent, he was Australian.

"Not at all, officer Wenhamm," Howard replied simply and sniffed a bit, looking offended. It was most likely because he had been rather rudely interrupted.

"I've told you that you can just call me Reever," Wenhamm said and scratched his neck, smiling sheepishly. "It makes me feel all high and mighty if you call me by my last name."

"It's about principle and politeness, officer Wenhamm," Howard said swiftly, a small frown slowly forming on his forehead. "You should keep that in mind too."

So they were Howard and Reever Wenhamm, then. They seemed to know each other a bit, judging by the way they acted. Though they were probably just work buddies, and nothing else. Lavi was quite sure he had been right about Howard; that guy was very strict about rules and principles. Still, he seemed easily annoyed.

"I was just about to explain to him why we'd like to get access to the crime scene," Lavi cut in with a smooth tone. "We need to see it to help us with our newest project. We're Bookmen." They were wasting precious time on this, damn it.

Reever blinked a few times, then his face suddenly burst into a wide smile, his eyes widening slightly. "You're _the _Bookmen?" he asked, sounding quite excited. "I love all your work! It's really helped me in understanding human nature better and therefore do my job more efficiently, too! What kind of project is it?"

Lavi looked at him for a moment, letting his words sink in. Wow… Seemed they got in contact with the right kind of person here. Howard did not look all that happy, but what did that matter? Reever was a fan, it seemed. That was lucky. Of course, it was not completely sure Reever would let them in, but it was definitely worth a shot. They probably had better chance with him than with Howard, anyway.

"Sorry, but that's classified for now," Lavi said and grinned, scratching his head. "You're Reever, yeah? I'm Lavi, and this is _the Bookman_." His tone was slightly mocking, but still a bit serious, and he motioned his hand at the old man, who rolled his eyes.

He extended a hand towards Reever, who shook it enthusiastically. "Look," the blond said and glanced around himself, looking somewhat troubled. "Even if I personally don't have any rejections against letting you in, rules are rules… It's a restricted area for civilians, and even if you're well-known people you're not part of the police. I can't just give you access to the scene."

"That's a relief, officer Wenhamm," Howard spoke up, looking as bitter as he had all the time. "I was afraid you would just go ahead with it. But apparently there is still hope for you."

"Who do you take me for?" Reever asked and smiled sheepishly. "I do know my duties."

"Really now..." he nearly snarled. Then, he raised a hand and took a step forward. "Now, please, step back. We do not want to have to resort to violence."

Lavi frowned and backed off slightly. Bookman opened his mouth to say something, to _finally _back him up, but he was interrupted by a few sudden alarmed shouts.

"Ma'am, please calm down! Ma'am!"

"Ma'am, put that away!"

Howard's head snapped in the direction of the sound and he put his hand over the gun strapped to his waist as he rushed over to help. Lavi looked over as well, seeing a woman with black hair, a red jacket, jeans and heeled shoes trying to get past the police, desperately, with one of her shoes raised to act as a sort of weapon for her. The cops tried to hold her down, but some of them got some jabs from the heel and she was beginning to make progress, crying out a shrill "let me through". As she ducked and slipped through the crowd, Reever disappeared as well.

Chance!

Lavi and Bookman shared one glance and a brief nod and they both moved forward, past the restrictions and onto the crime scene. The bodies still had not been moved, and that was perfect, just what they needed. They walked out of sight, they could not get caught after all, and only when they found a body that was on a safe spot did they go up to check on it closer. Lavi would really have liked to check every single one, but that could not be done.

Sigh.

Oh well.

"So, tell me, Lavi, what kind of gun is it that killed this man?" Bookman asked solemnly, clasping his hands together behind his back.

Lavi examined the bullet wounds, the size of them, the traces in them, the damage they had made.

".41 Remington Magnum, twohundred and ten grain bullets, thirteen-hundred feet per second," he said blankly and stood up from where he had been crouching next to the corpse. Magnums were quite impressive weapons. "Whoever did it knew what they were doin'. Most of the bullets pierced vital areas, where they'd definitely, no matter what, kill. They're not some random bloke, or whatever, that's for sure."

Bookman nodded, seeming pleased, and they continued on their way. It was obvious that the culprit, or culprits, were highly skilled, they had probably been doing this for quite a while. That meant that this was a great lead. The problem was that it would be good if they could figure out who had done it. It was possible, it always was, but that did not mean it was easy. But like this, it seemed to point to that it would take too long. Perhaps they should look for something else.

There was nothing else worth of notice on the scene of the crime. The culprit(s) had left no evidence behind. Not a single thing.

And that was damn frustrating.

"We should check Campbell's company and his office," Bookman said as they left the scene. "We might be able to find clues there. It is possible he had enemies."

Lavi nodded slowly, frowning down at the ground. Yes, he was quite disappointed. Maybe he had a small reason to be excited, too, because mysteries were always exciting and if he could get his hands on a real professional it would just be a great, but he had had high expections. So the defeat put him down. But maybe they _could _find something over at that Jim's workplace. The article on the blog had said that Jim and Cross had been working together for quite a while and now, all of a sudden, Jim had been elliminated. With Cross's reputation it might as well be him, just maybe. There was a chance.

He did not think he would find something that helped concerning _that_ issue in Jim's office, not really, but perhaps something that pointed to it. Or _something_. He had to hope.

Maybe there was something hidden that they could get their hands on.

"It's not too far away," he said and turned to the right. "It's walking distance."

"Then lead the way."

Obviously. Lavi snorted a little and took the lead. The sky was changing in colour from blue to yellow and with a little bit of red at the very edge of the horizon. Not that the horizon was very easy to spot in a city like this, what with the walls towering high into the sky. There were just a few cracks in the structure that allowed that view. The still buildings and the humans that walked by, slowing down to eye the commotion around the crime scene, cast long shadows - well, fairly long anyway - across the streets so that you could pretty much not see the sun hit the ground anywhere.

The air was pretty cool by now, and that was nice. New York was a very hot city and Lavi had not fully gotten used to that yet. He had come from the north and a much colder place. Canada, to be more exact. So he had to get used to the new climate.

And that was always one of the more annoying parts. Urgh.

Ten minutes later they reached Jim's office building. It was a grey brick building with loads and loads of windows and it towered high above them. A fairly wide staircase led up to the two front doors that were just fancy enough to give the impression that this was some sort of important place, but still not too fancy so that it just looked stupid for a simple office building. They were rounded at the top and made in a massive wood that was coloured white to fit the grey walls but you could still see the fibers and lines in the wood.

He walked up the steps, slowly, slightly surprised that there seemed to be no commotion around the place. Considering Jim had recently been killed, there should be. Or maybe it just could not be seen from the outside, but... He had expected people to be running in and out. After all, a lot of people had gotten killed along with him and most likely a lot of them worked here, so they must have lost a lot of men and they had to figure out what to do now...

But, hey, if people were not running in and out it was all much easier for him and Bookman.

He opened the door and stepped inside. The first room was big and its ceiling was high. No surprise there. In front of them was a counter, between two elevators. And, of course, there sat a secretary. She wore glasses, her brown hair was tied in a ponytail and her fringe was a mess. She looked quite tired, and she was talking rapidly on the phone. Said something along the lines of "well then think of something". She was talking too quietly for it to be heard properly, even if the place had to be echoing.

The walls were light green and the roof was white. The floor was made of beige-coloured wood and along the walls stood benches and pots with plants.

It looked normal enough. Not that the Bookmen never cared about the mask of things. They did not have proof that Jim was dealing with anything illegal, but there was a possibility. The situation with his death was suspicious enough.

"Can I help you?"

Lavi blinked and stared at the secretary for a moment, until Bookman kicked him lightly in the back of his leg. He shook his head, cleared his throat a little and moved forward to the counter.

He whipped out a police ID and showed it to her (honestly, he and Bookman would never leave without such IDs when it was a crime things concerned. Duh).

"We need to have a look in Jim Campbell's office," he said with a professional tone.

The secretary blinked, took one quick look up and down of what she could see of Lavi, and smiled. "Of course of course!" she said a bit too excitedly. "It's really a shame, that, isn't it? Mr. Campbell's, bless his soul, office is on the third floor, to the right at the very far end of the hallway, as far as you can go. The elevators are right there, as I'm sure you can see."

She motioned at the elevator doors and smiled even wider.

"Right," Lavi said without a change in his tone and pocketed the fake ID, but then put on a wide smile as well and chirped; "Thank you~"

He marched past the counter and pressed the elevator button. They waited in silence for the doors to open, waited in silence for the elevator to reach the right floor, walked in silence towards the office. There was no need for any talking, really. It was all set in stone by now, pretty much, what they were going to do.

They passed a few people, but got paid no mind whatsoever. The people were rushing. The company had to decide what to do with their top guy dead, after all.

Lavi and Bookman stepped into the office. It was, unsurprisingly, big. At the far wall was a tall window, in front of which was an L-shaped desk and a computer stood on the part that pointed against the window. Whoever furnished the room knew what they were doing. It always looked good to sit in front of a big window on a beautiful desk when you were talking to important people, but a computer who had the window right behind it was just plain annoying, not to mention that it tired your eyes out. The desk's shape was perfect.

In a corner stood a tall and impressive plant, on the walls hung beautiful paintings, and there were also, of course, chairs to sit on and that you could pull up in front of the desk.

Lavi marched around the desk, took a quick look down at the street below them, and took a seat in the (very comfortable) chair behind it. And, promptly, began pulling out drawers and searching through them. When he did not find anything worth noting, he moved onto the computer.

After a while of searching and cracking passwords, he stumbled upon a copy of a contract. A contract of the agreements between Jim and Cross's companies.

"Bingo," he grinned, and Bookman, who had been standing somewhere to the side, watching, came over.

Buuut, he had sort of been hoping to find more.

After they both read it through, Lavi frowned and leaned back in the chair. "Something's missing," he stated and bit his lip a little. "It's like it's an incompletely contract. It's too... subtle."

He shook his head. Could they find something better after having searched for such a long time already?

Well, they were not leaving in the first place.

"But I guess that just makes it all the more suspicious, yeah?" he asked and glanced over at Bookman, who gave him a meaning look. "Yeah. I guess it's _something_. I was still hoping for something more, though... Ah, man."

He ran his hand through his hair and grimaced a little. But... well. If they did not find anything else, that would do. It would do.

And they did not find anything else.

Even if they stayed until after the sun went down.

* * *

The awful setting-up is finally finished! *Dies* Hopefully things will flow a bit better from here on out! *Bows* I do love this idea but but... setting it up makes me insecure. XDD


	4. Don't Talk of Those Heavy Things

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KANDA! Kickstarting the LaviYu Festival 2010! Everyone go check out the festival's HQ at http: /thelaviyufesthq. livejournal. com if you want to know more. It'd be great if more people could join in on the contest that opens the festival. You can win a fic, from either me or hearmelaugh (mugen_edamame on LJ)!

**Warnings for _this_ chapter: **Snarky Allen, Cross, lame company name, moar lame plot, Tiedoll, emo!Kanda (no, not really, that's exaggarating it. Just hurting Kanda).

Next chapter, Lavi and Kanda will meet. Woot!

* * *

**Don't Talk of Those Heavy Things**

So, in the end, Lavi had decided that one of the best bets were Cross. Whoever that guy was and whatever that guy did, he was suspicious. Suspicious enough, anyway. Lavi had looked more into Cross for a couple of days, and during that time some updates had come on the murder of Jim Campbell. Kanda had been pointed out as a suspect, but it did not take long before the charges were dropped. For Lavi, however, that was just enough. It could not be just a coincidence.

And thus, he was, right now, standing outside Cross's main office building. What better place to start? He could probably find _something_ to help him. Hopefully.

The building was plain. Brick walls, a very simple even if big front door, a sign at the very top where the company's name was ("Cross Corporation". How very imaginative), and lots and lots of windows. The building had four floors, but it looked like it was big area-wise, not height-wise. Wonder how many offices there were...

Ah, focus, Lavi. Get moving.

Cross seemed to be a smug person. When Lavi entered, he could walk straight past the secretary without being asked of his business. Maybe it was not so much Cross and smugness - thinking he had no real threats so did anything really have to be asked – as it was laziness or lack of attention from the secretary's side, but Lavi could not think of any reason that Cross would not know if one of his employees was being lazy. Did Cross not care? Or maybe he was a lazyass himself and did not keep a very close eye on his employees. But he probably would not have gotten so far if he didn't...

On a board there was information on what floor the appartments and the important people could be found on. The boss's office was on top floor. Fourth floor, obviously. That was good to know. He would rather not have Cross see him, or anything, today, to be on the safe side, so once he got to that floor he should watch out...

It was probably best to start off with that floor. Get the most... worrisome one out of the way.

So Lavi stepped into one of the elevators and went up to the fourth floor. He felt somewhat relieved about not meeting anyone on the way up, or things could turn out a bit uncomfortable. He preferred to choose who to talk to, rather than be "forced" to talk to someone. Some people had trouble keeping their nose out of other's business.

Uh... Sort of Bookmen included, yes?

As the doors opened, he walked out somewhat cautiously, glancing around. But he caught himself with it, and that just was not any way to act when you were not supposed to be someone suspicious. So, he took a deep breath, and rolled his shoulders a little, allowing himself to relax, and then slouched into the posture of the laid-back friendly Lavi. And then he took off in a confident pace down the hallway, searching for someone to talk to.

He got to a crossroad in the hallway, and something flickered in the edge of his left - his uncovered - eye.

It was the white hair that caught his eye. Actually, maybe it was not exactly white, more like very bright blond, to be exact. Bleached, most likely. He knew immediately who it was. After all, he had seen the guy on a picture while looking through Cross's employees. Allen Walker, nineteen years old, Cross's nephew, college sophomore. He worked for Cross to get money for his studying and living. Seemingly a normal boy. Lavi might as well start there.

The boy seemed quite distressed. He was flipping through some file while muttering to himself and he clearly did not see exactly where he was going.

Lavi was slightly amused. But just slightly. And a little bit curious too. What was Allen so distressed about?

Young people were generally easier to get information out of, and seeing as most had not faced much hardship in life, they were often generally not as suspicious towards other people, either. Allen seemed... safe-ish enough, at first glance, like this.

Plus, he was a relative of Cross. Interesting stuff.

"Hey, you!" Lavi called and increased his pace to catch up to the student.

Allen made a most funny jump into the air, nearly dropping the file and thus spending a few moments in trying to get back the control over it. Which he succeeded with and his shoulders slumped in relief. Something told Lavi he would have fun talking to this guy.

Allen turned around and put on a polite smile, but the slight twitch of his cheek did not escape the Apprentice Bookman's eye, obviously. The Apprentice Bookman did not miss anything.

"Uhm, yes?" he asked and clutched the file to his chest, maybe to make sure he did not lose his grip on it again.

Lavi hummed and stopped in front of him, taking a quick look on the red mark over his left eye. Lavi did not yet know what it was. He guessed it was a tattoo, it was most likely a tattoo. But it was a strange place for a tattoo and it was a strange tattoo too. So he was not sure.

"You work here right?" he asked and shoved his hands into his pockets, leaning back just slightly into a relaxed position.

He had to make sure Allen did not see him as someone threatening, after all.

Allen eyed him warily anyway. It was understandable, really. After all, he had seemingly come from nowhere. But he was not a suspicious-looking guy. At least, he was not supposed to look like one. How other people interpreted it was another question. But Bookmen knew. His personality's posture and body language - along with the personality itself too of course - was formed after how humans worked, though it was not perfect. No human was perfect, after all, so for the personality to be believable it could not be perfect either.

There was always something about a person's eyes, something about how they walked, something about how they held themselves.

Then again, everyone could learn to manipulate how suspicious they looked.

Still, he could not help but sometimes wonder if he even remembered how he was truly like. Although the personality was supposed to be somewhat natural, so the Bookmen could more easily fit into them. Meaning it was not supposed to be completely unlike their true selves.

"Yes... I do," Allen answered and frowned. "Who are you?"

"Oohhh, I'm no one suspicious," Lavi snickered and smiled widely, and contentedly. "Name's Lavi. And you are~?"

"Allen..." Allen was fingering on the file he held, the frown turning doubtful, his eyes distrusting and confused. "What do you want? You can't just storm in here-"

"Oh, but I just did."

He looked like he got caught off-guard for a moment, but then he gathered himself together and glared a little. His grey eyes were surprisingly piercing and there was something hidden in there that almost, but just almost, made Lavi want to shudder. That was interesting.

"I just wanna ask some questions," Lavi continued, his smile not changing a bit. "Ya see, I'm lookin' for this guy that apparently works 'ere. Yu Kanda? You recognise that name?"

Allen's expression darkened at that moment. Lavi was not sure why, but he sure hoped it was not anything bad. Like... something that meant he would have to give up on this way of searching. This was the best lead he had, so he would rather not have to give up on it. That crime scene had not helped out much, he and Bookman had just managed to make a connection to Cross Marian. Because that hotshot that had gotten murdered had been doing some bargains with the famous redhead; bargains that had very likely gone to hell or something like that. At least, that was what Lavi and Bookman had guessed.

Sadly, they were too vague to tell what it all was about. Cross and that guy probably did not put most things into writing. There really was not much there and everything had been removed from the computers. That was suspicious, but it did not help one bit. It did not make sense and it was so damn frustrating. He had had something there for a while! And now he had to do it the long way. If he even could find something out the long way.

But first, he had to find Kanda.

"Kanda?" Allen asked darkly, paused, then continued rapidly. "Why are you looking for him? He's no one worth caring about. He's a dumb bastard who lacks any social skill whatsoever. He's rude, stupid, anti-social and thinks he can do just anything he wants. He's got no respect at all, he's childish and violent, he never watches where he's going because he thinks others should move out of _his_ way and never the other way around. Did I say he's stupid yet?"

Lavi blinked a few times. WELL, that sure was... interesting. So apparently Allen Walker and Yu Kanda did not get along at all. He had to wonder if Allen was just exaggarating because they obviously did not get along, or if it really was like that. Oh well, he would find out soon enough.

"Uhm... Right," he said and shook his head a little. "The reason I'm lookin' for 'im is my own business. Is he anywhere around'ere right now?"

Allen huffed and probably tried to look a little bit threatening, but the image was ruined by the slight pout on his lips. "Your own business?" he repeated and sighed heavily. "Well, whatever, I don't care about him. He's not here at the moment, he comes and goes at random times like a lot of other people. What those people do exactly I don't understand, but it's not my business."

"Well, it's for my job, if you really hav'ta know," Lavi said and tilted his head a little. "But if their work isn't your business, neither should mine be, yes?"

Allen blinked and stared at the redhead for a while. He actually seemed to be a little bit surprised and defeated there. Well, not a surprise. That had been a very valid argument that used the words that he had said himself. Any normal human would get a bit dumbfounded from that.

"I... guess," he finally admitted with a sigh, his fingers twitching just slightly (strange). "I do know one thing... Kanda is going to meet Cross at 603 West 45th Street tomorrow at ten PM. You could always try to catch him there."

His expression was suddenly dead serious. Actually, maybe it was closer to very displeased.

Ah, so he _did _know what kind of place that was. Lavi had almost wondered for a moment, considering the casual tone he had used. Then it had to be normal for Cross to meet people at strip clubs. Or maybe it was normal for Cross to be at strip clubs in general. Lavi thought he was quite the charmer and did not need to go to such places to spend time with women. Then again, maybe it did not hurt to enjoy your time at some club every now and then. Probably not. There _were_ fancy strip clubs where people like Cross could spend their time, and that particular one sure was one of those clubs.

Penthouse Executive Club. Quite the Fancy - yes, with a capital f - place. It was probably perfect for Cross.

"Awesome! Man, I'd love to have a job where I talked to my boss in such a place!" Lavi laughed. "Lots of beautiful ladies~"

Allen's face turned into a deadpan. "I'm sure Kanda wouldn't mind switching with you," he said blankly. "I honestly think he doesn't care at all. Or more like he doesn't like it at all."

Lavi widened his eyes. "What kinda man is he?" he asked, pretty loudly. "Is he gay or something?"

Allen beamed widely. "I wouldn't put it past him," he said sweetly, but his face fell afterwards and he frowned slightly instead. "But stop talking so loudly, please."

The boy fingered on the documents in his arms and pursed his lips a little. Yep, he was getting slightly uncomfortable. Hm, probably not so good.

"Alright, alright," Lavi grinned and patted Allen's shoulder a little. "Since you're the one who says it 'nd all." Allen gave him a questioning raised eyebrow. "What? You _are_ rather cute, y'know."

Allen backed off a little and blinked. "Wha-? Don't talk as if we're friends or something!" he spluttered and scowled. "And I'm _not cute_. I'm _nineteen_, _how_ can I be cute? You just-"

He sighed frustradedly.

Lavi snickered and waved his hand at Allen's face. "I talk like that with everyone," he said simply. "Don't get hung up on it. And I'm absolutely sure that if you ask someone else you know if they think you're cute they'll say that yeah, you are. At least if they're girls. I guess not all guys say such things."

"Maybe you're gay too."

Allen's face was totally serious.

Lavi gaped. Whoa, this little guy had a _bite_. A very vicious one.

"Hey, I like girls, 'kay?" he protested and pouted a little, crossing his arms. "Not gay. Bi, I guess, probably, but not gay."

"Oookay," Allen said incredulously, paused for a moment, then stated with certianty. "Kanda will hate you."

"Whaaaaat? Why?"

"Because..." Allen shrugged and waved a hand around for a second or two, and then motioned at Lavi. "Because."

Lavi hung his head. "You're a harsh man, Allen," he whined and sniffed.

Allen's face burst into a beaming, sweet smile once again. "Just stating the truth," he chirped.

Lavi straightened up and sighed dramatically. "Yeah, well, okay, thanks," he said and raised his hand in a wave as he turned around partly, but Allen continued talking.

"Is your job really that secret?" he asked, his voice almost drawling.

Lavi tilted his head, and smiled. "Nah, not really, I just like to act it," he said amusingly. "It's fun."

Allen raised his eyebrows and looked at the redhead for a moment, then just shook his head. "Right... What _do_ you do, then?"

"I write books."

Allen blinked, and Lavi just widened his smile slightly.

A door opened, rather loudly, somewhere behind a turn, and Allen seemed to tense. Huh.

"Hey, Brat!" a deep and smooth voice drifted down the hallway, and soon a tall man wearing a long coat and a hat on top of his very red and very long hair marched around said turn. "What's taking you so long, and what's with all the damn noise?"

Aha. _'And here we have the big guy himself.'_

Cross Marian looked a lot more intimidating in real life than in a picture. He was almost a bit scary.

Allen slowly turned sideways and opened his mouth to speak as Cross stopped next to him, but he didn't get the time to say anything as his uncle interrupted him, his hard stare stuck right on Lavi.

"Who the hell are you?"

Lavi felt the need to shiver even more than when Allen had looked at him a little like that.

You could see they were related.

But no shivering here, no sir. "Lavi!" he grinned and extended a hand. "Pleased to meet you! You must be Cross."

Cross glanced down at the hand, and curled his lips up in disgust. He did not grab it.

"He asked me about Kanda," Allen said and glanced at Lavi, who pulled back his hand with a bit of a pout.

Cross snorted. "That's not any of his business," he grumbled and shooed at Lavi with his hand. "Scurry along now, and get out of here. Come on already, Brat."

He grabbed a hold of Allen's upper arm and tugged him with him as he turned around and walked back in the direction he had come from. Lavi could see him muttering something to Allen. It looked like "you better not have told him anything" or something like that, and Allen replied "nothing at all" with a very calm expression on his face.

Not bad, "Brat", not bad.

"Maybe I'll meet ya again sometime!" Lavi called after Allen. "And sorry for all the trouble, and the intruding, Cross!"

...not as planned.

It was not very good that Cross had seen him _already_.

. . .

Kanda was having another tiresome day. It was just... generally annoying. He met annoying people and got into annoying situations, and he was so very happy to be back home. Having to shop was such a pain. And he hated shopping _clothes_ especially, even if he hated all kinds of shopping.

And how the fuck did the police manage to sniff him out as a suspect? Not. Acceptable. Goddamnit.

As if all that annoyance was not enough, there now was a very annoying person at the door (Kanda wasn't the one who opened it). So, the annoying person might be a lot of help in many ways, had been ever since Kanda and Umeko's parents died, in the way that he helped Kanda get custody of his sister and in the way that he provided financial aid if it was really necessary, which Kanda did not think it often was, but he was still annoying.

"Yu-dear!" said person exclaimed and burst into the appartment, heading towards Kanda, who had just been on his way to check who had knocked on the door, with outstretched arms.

"Fuck no," Kanda replied in a deadpan, and twitched as he was pulled into a tight hug. "Tiedoll! Get. off. me."

He growled and forcefully pushed Tiedoll away before he marched to the door and slammed it shut. Why was Umeko out _now_? He did not really mind Tiedoll as a person, but his stubborness at being so _close and personal_ made Kanda's skin _crawl_. He did not like it one bit. Both because it made him sort of want to hurt Tiedoll, and he did not want that, and because he just did not like getting touched that much.

When Kanda turned his back towards the door, Tiedoll was busy flinging around in the kitchen to make tea.

...great. He was going to stick around for a while.

God, why could his sister not be home?

"How are you doing these days, Yu?" Tiedoll asked cheerfully as he poured up some water into a saucepan and put it on the stove. "We haven't seen each other for so long! Do you have enough money? How's Umeko? Oh, the dear, she works so hard, doesn't she?"

"Stop asking so many questions at the same time," Kanda grunted. ...then again, that was not all that bad, because that gave him a reason to not reply to them all. "She's good."

"Ah, it's time for college for her soon, isn't it?" Tiedoll asked as he put teacups down on the coffee table in front of the couch, where Kanda shortly after sat down and folded his arms. "Oh, you two are growing up so quickly. I still remember when you were kids."

Kanda huffed and frowned down at his empty teacup. College... He knew where this was going, oh, he knew. He twisted a little in his seat and frowned deeper, waiting tensily for Tiedoll to get the tea done and get to the point.

"You were so cute together," Tiedoll kept on talking as he began to pick up some things from the floor while waiting for the water to boil. "Umeko was always so happy, and you were always so grumpy! Ohhh, but it was really so adorable, and no one could seperate you. You've always been close, so of course you would want to be close now too. Oh! Sibling love~"

He sighed blissfully, and Kanda's frown had turned into an angry glare. He knew all this already. It was not making him any happier to hear it all, because it made him recall memories of his parents and he _did not_ want that. He _did not want that_! He did not want to remember their smiling faces and their encouraging words and their hugs and their funerals- It made his heart twist and he hated when it did that. Hated it with so much passion. He wanted to shoot a hole through it to _make it stop_.

"Shut up," he said, with a blank tone to hide the fact that he was- hurting.

"Oh, don't be mad, Yu~" Tiedoll chirped and poured the finished tea into a teapot, which he brought with him as he turned off the stove and then went to sit next to Kanda.

"I'm not," Kanda grunted.

He was not. Just irritated. And- The rest was not important.

Tiedoll filled their cups with tea and Kanda gladly accepted the distraction, grabbing his cup and taking a sip. So, the tea was boiling hot, but whatever (he burned his tongue a little bit, but who cared).

Tiedoll was apparently going to wait for it to cool down.

"Has she been thinking of where to apply?" Tiedoll asked with a wide smile. "She's unsure of what she wants, isn't she?"

Kanda just nodded, stubbornly keeping from meeting Tiedoll's gaze. The old man sighed and leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together. He turned towards Kanda and eyed him with a light frown.

"She's thinking too much about how you will be able to afford it, isn't she?" he asked calmly. "She should be thinking about what to do with her life. She shouldn't have to worry about that."

Kanda scowled and turned his head away. He knew that. Damn it, he... knew that.

"My offer still stands, Yu," Tiedoll continued and Kanda felt a hand clasp his shoulder. "I can pay for it. And you should get an education too. I can pay for you as well. It won't be a problem. Let me help you."

"I can't," Kanda grumbled and shook the hand off him, scooting away from Tiedoll. "I have nothing to give in return, and I... I don't have the time to study."

"You don't have to give anything in return."

"I can't accept anything without doing that."

Tiedoll sighed and Kanda saw him take his teacup in the corner of his vision. "Think about Umeko, Yu," he said. "This is about her. She deserves to get an education. You know that. If you really must give me something in return, then do that when you can." He paused for a moment. "Is it really only that?"

Kanda clenched his cup and prolonged having to answer by drinking more of his tea. No, it was not only that. If it was only that, then yes, he would accept Tiedoll's help, he would accept it for more than just the education, but... He could not... He did not want Tiedoll to get any more involved with him than that. He feared the old man might be in danger if he did, and... That could not happen. No.

He had to... find some other way. He had to. Just not this. For Tiedoll's sake.

He swallowed.

He found nothing to reply with, so he just stayed silent.

They both stayed silent, drinking their tea, Kanda stubbornly staying turned away from Tiedoll and Tiedoll occasionally glancing at Kanda. He seemed to be thinking that if he just waited, Kanda would reply, but no, that would not happen. He could not reply, because he did not want to say it was only that, because it was not solid, but he could not say the truth, because then he would have to elaborate and he could not do that. He could not let Tiedoll know about... About Cross, and... everything. Because he would be in danger _then_ too. But if he did not say a thing, then Tiedoll would know something was _very_ wrong...

Whatever he did, it was all going to hell.

Damn it. This was why he did not want to talk about this. This was why...

It was his business, so just... It was his business and he could not in any way share it with anyone. Not in any way. It was not possible.

Kanda put the cup away once it was empty, and he was about to stand up when Tiedoll once again grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.

"Yu," he said, strangely firmly this time. "Why can't you tell me? I can see that it's eating you up. I don't like seeing that. Please, tell me, child. Let me help-"

"No," Kanda replied, somewhat strainedly, and stood up anyway, so that Tiedoll was forced to let go. "It's not something that you can just- It's not that easy. If I could, then- But I- No. Just... leave it. I have to deal with it on my own."

He grabbed his cup and walked off to put it in the sink.

"No matter how strongly you think that, I can assure you that that will never work out in the end," Tiedoll said seriously. "I know that you know that there are things in this world that you can't do on your own. You can do very few things completely on your own. Isn't it better to just get help now, and not wait until there is nothing else to be done?"

Kanda furiously shook his head, putting his hands on the kitchen counter and leaning heavily against it. "No. It's not," he insisted and closed his eyes, lowering his head.

He heard Tiedoll stand up and walk towards him, and the sound of the other cup being put in the sink as well, and he clenched his fists as Tiedoll stroked his back in what was supposed to be soothing motions, but that in reality just strung him up.

It took way too long to get Tiedoll out of the appartment. He kept trying to make Kanda talk, but he had no success. Kanda would not bunch, and that was final. And to over and over say no and over and over being forced to think about the situation, and why he had to say no, was so damn emotionally exhausting, that when Tiedoll finally left he just wanted to curl up on a bed and forget about reality. But he would not do that, because Kanda Yu did not do that.

Instead, he grabbed his jacket and left the appartment to visit a shooting range, so that he could imagine that he blew the face off Cross and all those other people that pissed him off.


End file.
